1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention is related generally to a percussive instrument in the nature of a drum. In particular, this invention is related to a method for coupling multiple drum shells with intervening drum heads via integrated counter hoops.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional percussive instruments in the nature of a drum utilize a single cylindrical shell. One or both ends of the cylinder are terminated with a membrane commonly referred to as a drum head. An internal volume of air is defined by this shell and drum head combination. A variety of mechanical methods for mounting and/or tuning the drum heads is known in the art. A typical application involves one tuned or tensioned head acting as a point of impact and a second tuned or tensioned head acting as a passive resonator.
A compound drum was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,214,504. This device incorporated a plurality of resonating chambers encompassed by a single shell. A single drum head terminated the plurality of chambers and the concomitant single shell creating a single surface with discrete striking regions.
Shell geometries differing from cylindrical are known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,591 disclosed a snare drum incorporating a conical or tapered drum shell.